Dec 5 Would You Go Get Baby-O?

It’s mid-afternoon and I still haven’t shaken my decidedly non-Zen morning that involved running through the shower, then locking horns with Laurel over the topics of eating breakfast, getting socks and shoes on, not playing with markers, etc., in order to get out the door to day care. Not surprisingly, my attempts to explain how our lateness impacted my ability to meet several deadlines this week weren’t going anywhere.

We finally got out the door and then, in the day care parking lot, as I pulled Laurel out of her seat, she said: “Where’s Baby-O”? My heart sank as I realized that we had left the house without her beloved Asian baby.

Laurel started crying and I felt my blood pressure elevate markedly, but given that Laurel is going through another clingy phase and drop offs haven’t been great these days (unless her BFF Gracie is there) I got in the car, and, swearing vigorously under my breath (okay, I was swearing out loud…), raced home to get Baby-O.

I suppose Laurel’s cheery expression when I gave her Baby-O should have been enough to erase my frustration, and the loop around only set me back another 15 minutes, but somehow I felt completely wronged by the situation. I wondered, what are the limits to requests, especially now that we’re in the classic toddler phase where the requests come fast and furious? Given the variables, would you have gone back to get Baby-O??